Happy Halloween!!! I have been Simpsonized!!!

Here I am! Now you try it! It's free. Just go to www.simpsonizeme.com

We did it! The 5/6 yr old Volunteers completed a great season of Flag Football.

Last August - my son Christian signed up to play flag football with the Roswell Parks and Recreation Dept. The league needed some coaches - as there wasn't enough. So I said - heck, why not! So I wound up being head coach to the best group of boys one can find - the 5/6 yr old Volunteers. Go Vols!!!

This was an instructional league. Which meant we focused on the fundamentals, such as catch, run, tackle, throw, etc. We met every Monday and Thursday for practices. And then we had games on Saturdays.

Our season was wonderful. The boys, each and every one of them, were an absolute delight. What personalities!!! And they grew so much. Those smiles on their faces as they learned the basics. This was about teaching the sport of football, building teamwork skills, positive thinking, shaping character and having play 'ol fun! And I believe we acheived it.

Building these skills couldn't have been done by me alone. There was a great group of Volunteers to these 5/6 yr Volunteers to make it happen. Thank you to the other coaches thoughout these past 3 +/- months. Those people include my brother/best friend Corey, Mark Garzon, Ernie Cameron, and Gregg Schoonover. And of course our Team Mom (my wife) Marineli. I learned a lot from each one of you. Your help was very, very much appreciated!!!

I will miss coaching these boys. Each one of them made such an impression on me. And hey! We even finished the season on a high note by winning the Orange Bowl in the BCS. Go Vols! At the conclusion of the game, the awesome parents of these kids hosted a celebration picnic in honor of the boys. Along with snacks and drinks, every Volunteer received a trophy for doing a great job this season.

Thank you parents for giving me this special opportunity to contribute to each of these boys' lives. I truly consider this experience an honor and most certainly - a privilege. These parents were great! And I also thank you for the nice gift at the picnic. That was very nice. I received a Taco Mac gift card AND A PICTURE FRAME FEATURING AUTOGRAPHS FROM EACH VOLUNTEER :-)

Lastly, what had to be one of the most touching gestures ever...was when one of the boys gave me a hug to say good-bye. He said "Thank you Coach Mike!" Wow. That made my day. Thank you A.J.

May God bless you all!

Signed,

Coach Mike a/k/a -michael d.